Silver Linings
by Li'l Yahiko
Summary: Rating may change. When Meryl, Milly, and Vash move back home, rumors begin to spread, and now everyone thinks that Meryl is in love with Vash! -but it's not true! Right? VashMeryl
1. Chapter 1: Oops!

_**Silver Linings**_

(Disclaimed)

Chapter 1: Oops!

When Milly's son was born, the three travelers decided that it was best if they moved back to their hometown. They didn't have the time, money, or storage to take a baby around with them, and the place they were staying was hardly adequate for raising a child. Besides, it would be much easier to work from the office than running around to post offices and such. So, they packed up their junk and the sleeping psychopath and headed back to home.

Milly's son, Noah, was an adorable, mischievous little boy. He had his mother's eye color, and her nose, but the rest was purely Wolfwood. In fact, even his attitude was similar, and Vash got a whap on the head for saying that if the baby could smoke, he probably would.

"Well, this is a nice apartment," Meryl concluded, dropping suitcases on the floor. The front door led right into the main room which consisted of a kitchen on the left, and a relaxing area on the right-- that of which consisted of a couch, two chairs, and a television against the wall. The walls were painted a strange, sea teal, and the floors were wooden.

"Uh…" Vash muttered. The room after the main area was a bedroom, painted the same color, as was the rest of the house. It had two beds against the left wall with black- barred head boards and squeaky mattresses. The right wall had a window that viewed a part of the city and was covered by lace curtains.

"I love it!" Milly said, cradling her son. After the bedroom, there was a hallway with a bathroom in the middle and two other bedrooms on the left and right.

"Dehhh…." Noah said flatly, his eyes as dead-pan as his voice.

"I suppose we should unpack," Meryl said.

"Where are we supposed to put everything?" Vash asked, looking around. "Sure, there's a lot of floor space, but there aren't… any… dresser drawers, or nothing…"

"We'll buy some," Milly said. "We have to buy furniture for little Noah too!"

"Aa," Noah nodded.

"How can he understand us?" Vash said, glaring at the child.

"He can't understand us! He's a baby!" Milly laughed.

"Ahahaha!" The baby laughed at Vash. Vash stared at the child. Noah had a sly smirk on his face, his eyes glinting.

"Right…" Vash said.

"Well, this is the best we can do," Meryl said. "Get used to it. It's not like you ring in any cash."

"I could… pretend to turn myself in," Vash pointed out smiling.

"-or you could get a job, you lazy bum!" Meryl yelled in his face. "As if driving sixteen hours with you humming wasn't bad enough!"

"Sorry… but I hate sitting in quiet!" Vash explained, only making Meryl growl even more.

"Shouldn't you go get Knives, Mr. Vash?" Milly asked.

"Oh… uh… yeah…" Vash turned and walked out of the apartment. Meryl grabbed the bags and carried them into the room that she had obviously claimed as Milly's and her own.

"Well, I suppose you'll be working from home, right?" Meryl asked as Milly laid Noah down on the bed.

"Well, I can't just leave Noah here with Mr. Vash," Milly giggled.

"Yeah… Who knows what would happen with that man around?" Meryl muttered. "-but… I suppose it'd be better than leaving him with some sort of babysitter…"

"Mr. Vash might not be able to handle him, Meryl. He's very difficult sometimes."

"Mr. Vash can barely handle himself," Meryl said, throwing her bag up on the bed.

-

Meryl had bought a nice dresser and had it set up on the right of the window. Milly had set up a corner for Noah across from her bed on the far side of her room. It had a small drawer with changing table, a crib, and a mobile that played "Lullaby" and had all of the moons of Gunsmoke in a circle.

Vash thought it was rather unnecessary to put the hole in the fifth moon, but it didn't really matter.

As for furniture for him, he didn't really need it. Since he had abandoned the red coat and everything, he only had one outfit -his white shirt and brown pants- and a pair of gray sweatpants to sleep in. All he needed was his bed, which he had. He just helped them with the furniture and stood around smiling.

"Well…" Meryl said as she finished putting hers and Milly's clothing into the dresser. "That's done."

-

The next day, Meryl returned to the Bernardelli Insurance Society building. She got to work immediately and stayed there until evening rolled around. After all, she WAS behind…

"Did you hear?" One of the workers said to a group of other workers. Meryl's good ears caught up on the gossip conversation.

"Yeah, they brought that Vash the Stampede back with them," Another whispered fiercely.

"Can you believe it?" A man said.

"Well, it was their job to keep him under surveillance, right?" Karen's voice entered the conversation.

"Well, yeah, but how can they let that happen? I mean, Milly's got a little boy now!"

Meryl was aghast at the conversation taking place. They were insulting Vash!

"Yeah, he could kill that child!"

"Oh, man, that's right!"

"They need to get that monster out of there!"

Meryl's pencil snapped in her hand, attracting everyone's attention. "How dare you…" She muttered.

Everyone was silent.

Meryl stood up and turned around, her eyes flaring. "How can you talk like that, and not even have the guts to say it to his face?!" She snapped. "You're making accusations from the rumors that you've heard and…. And they're not true! You shouldn't judge someone like that!"

"Meryl…" Karen began.

"Shut up, Karen! You guys speak so badly about him, and you don't even know him!" She yelled.

"-but, Meryl-" Another worker tried to speak.

"I've traveled with him for a long time, and I know what he's really like. He's not some kind of monstrous beast that you've all made up. He's a really good person, and he would never make fun of you like this." She looked down at her feet. "Vash is… he's… a good person… and you just can't see beyond the lies." She picked up her bag. "I'm clocking out now. I've already caught up with you. Maybe if you spent your time working instead of talking trash, then maybe it wouldn't have been so easy…" She left the office.

"Oh…" Karen muttered. "What's with her…?"

"Oh, no… You don't think…" Another girl said. They looked at each other.

-

Meryl opened her eyes and rose up, rubbing her eyes. Noah wasn't in his crib, and Milly wasn't in bed.

"She must have gone to get breakfast with Vash," Meryl concluded, going into the back and to the room on the right. Knives laid on the bed, still as stone, only his chest moving slightly as he breathed. She watched him for a little while, wondering if he'd ever wake up, then left to head towards the kitchen for coffee. After all, she had to go into work again today.

-

Meryl finished making her warm coffee and breathed in the smell. She slowly put it to her lips, standing near the kitchen table, and then she sipped it leisurely.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Milly stood in the doorway, wide-eyed and beaming with Noah in her arms. "Oh, Meryl!" She cried. "I'm so happy!" She set Noah down in his playpen that was set up by the door. "Oh… why didn't you tell me?! I thought this would never happen! Oh, I can't even contain my excitement!" Milly was practically jumping up and down, clapping her hands together.

"Milly… what are you… talking about?" Meryl blinked, completely clueless as to what the taller woman was babbling about.

"Oh, everyone's talking about it! I'm always the last to hear anything, you know? Well… unless you count Mr. Vash, but I suppose he already knows this time!"

"Knows what?" Meryl asked, oblivious to her antics.

"Well, of course! You're in love with Mr. Vash!"

"WHAT?!!!!" Meryl dropped her coffee cup.

(A/N: Well… how was that for a first chapter? I was wanting to write something adorable and fluffy and also humorous, and I figured Vash and Meryl… perfect! This is what I came up with, and it should be very fluffy soon enough. I hope you liked it. Besides, I needed to take a little break on "Just Your Average Teenage Samurai" before my inspiration runs dry on it. Sayonara!)


	2. Chapter 2: Haunting Rumors

Chapter 2: Haunting Rumors

"Meryl? Meryl, are you okay?" Milly asked.

"WHERE IN HELL DID YOU HEAR THAT?!" Meryl cried, going pale.

"What… you're not?" Milly asked innocently, sounding thoroughly disappointed.

"NO!" Meryl cried, blushing furiously. "Where'd you hear that?!"

"It's all around town," Milly said simply, then put her hand up to her mouth. "Oh… That's bad, isn't it."

"Oh, my GOD!" Meryl began pulling at her hair. "There's no way! NO WAY!!!!!" She collapsed from exasperation. "Ohhhh… Someone wake me up from this nightmare…"

"Oh, Meryl, calm down," Milly said, fanning her.

Noah stared at the two females. _Oh, man… What a pain in the-_

"I can't believe this… Oh, how did this happen?! Ohmygawd… What's Vash gonna say?! What's the boss gonna say?!!!"

"Oh, Meryl, Mr. Vash is very dense when it comes to rumors…" Milly tried to reassure her.

"Oh… This must have been because I stood up for him yesterday… I--I couldn't help it! All of them were speaking so badly about him…" Meryl hung her head. "Why… Why me? I've been a pretty good person, so why does all of this bad karma wrap around me?"

"Oh… Meryl…" Milly said, helping her up. "Don't worry about what other people think. My big, big sister always told me that what matters is what you think. Those people will eventually forget about it."

"yeah… I wish I could hide in my room until then…" Meryl said flatly, and Milly beamed at her.

"Gah," Noah said, banging his hands on his playpen. _I'm hungry, dammit!_

"Hm? Oh, I'd better get you some breakfast, huh," Milly beamed at him.

Meryl sat down on the couch and sighed. "Damn!" She cried.

"Gehbeh," Noah said. _Hey, little ears are listening, babe._

-

Meryl hesitantly entered the Bernardelli Insurance Society. "Oh… Somebody's going to mention this…" She said worriedly. "-but I couldn't call in sick… I mean… that would smear my perfect record!!! -and I can't do that over some stupid rumor…" She said, walking into the office.

Everyone stared at her. She glared menacingly at them and went to her desk. _Are they expecting me to skip in proclaiming love and peace to them? Jeez…They don't know how pissed I am! _ She began writing vigorously on her work, her teeth gritted. _It was one of them who put this story out! --and if I find out who, I'll have their head! I mean… come on!!! Me…and Vash the Stampede?! _

She broke the lead on her pencil. She threw it aside in frustration and grabbed another one off of her perfectly-organized desk. _I mean… he's… him… We're two completely different people! He's such a free-spirited goofball, skirt-chasing, peace-loving psychopath… and he's not even human! It wouldn't ever happen… Not that I… haven't thought about it… but that's beyond the point. I don't want Vash. I don't love Vash. That's that. … and everyone better shut up about it soon, or someone's going to be injured. _

_Hey! Stupid Meryl! Stop thinking about it! It's not true, so lay it to rest… Right then… I won't even think about it._ She nodded to herself in satisfaction.

-

Meryl opened her eyes, looking through a white cloth that was laying over her face. "I can't…" She tried to move it so she could see. Nothing was really visible, just a few blurs of bodies moving around.

"Oh, Meryl… This is the happiest day of my life!"

"Milly? Are you crying?"

"Oh… I promised I wouldn't, but I can't help myself!!!" Milly engulfed Meryl in a big bear hug, cutting off her air circulation.

"Uh… there… there, Milly…" Meryl said as she was set down on her feet again. She realized that she had been lifted out of a pair of high heels.

"Oh… You look so beautiful," Milly said.

"I can't see anything."

"Don't worry about it," Milly said cheerfully. "Now, I'll be right back. Noah needs me to put his bowtie on."

Milly was gone. "What's going on?" Meryl moaned, tugging at her wrist. "eh?" she felt up her arm until she found the end of the glove, right at her elbow, and from the feel of it, it had to be satin or something. She felt up the rest of her arm and rested her hand on her chest, feeling beads of some sort along the cloth that was serving as a cover. She could tell by the air on her ankles that the skirt was long, and her shoes were killing her feet.

"Here ya' go, Meryl." She was handed a garland of flowers.

"Kite?" She asked, deeply confused.

"Yeeeahhh…." He said, and then she heard him running off.

"Meryl! Meryl! Are you ready yet? I've got to go sit down now!" Milly cried, running up and tugging on her sleeve-strap.

"Ready… for… what?"

"Oh… You're so silly!" Milly laughed. "I'll see you in a bit."

"No, Milly, wait!" Meryl cried, but she was gone.

"Let us… depart…" Someone said, grabbing her arm.

"Deh! L-L---Legato?!!!" Meryl was absolutely horrified. _What in hell is going on?!_

Legato began leading her down a hallway, rather quickly. _He's supposed to be dead! Is he trying to kidnap me or something?! _She heard music, but it was muffled and off key.

"LEARN TO PLAY!" Knives yelled.

_KNIVES?! _Meryl thought frantically.

"Shut up!" Kite's voice came from seemingly nowhere. "I'm doing my best!"

"Your best isn't good enough!" Zazie the Beast yelled.

_Zazie… the beast?! H-he's dead!!!_

"You wanna say that to my face?!"

"Now, everyone behave," Milly said.

Silence.

The music continued.

Meryl was then dragged down another hall, and she could feel people watching her, seeing their blurry forms all around. Suddenly, she was stopped, and her arm was let go, and she was left standing, facing someone.

"Ahem… Dearly beloved…"

"Wolfwood?" _HE'S DEAD TOO!!!!!_

"Nice to see you to, Meryl," Wolfwood laughed. "Now… Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to… Oh… shit, I should' a memorized this… Uh… blah blah blah… Do you take him to be yours, do you take her to be yours, yeah, yeah, whatever, and now you may kiss the bride."

"Bride?" Meryl cried. The veil was lifted from her face.

"Kiss me, Meryl!" Vash cried, leaning in, wearing a black tuxedo.

"OH MY GAWD!!!!" She cried.

Meryl rose up in bed, panting and horrified. She was pale as a sheet and feeling like she'd just been put in and removed from a dryer.

"Meryl?" Milly asked sleepily, raising up and rubbing her eye.

"What?!" She cried, clutching her chest.

"WAAAAH!" Noah screamed out. _Hey, can't a guy get any sleep around here?! _

"Oh…" Milly went over and tended to her baby.

_What a nightmare! Oh man… this has got me shaken up more than I thought… I need to get this past me! Oh…I really need something to knock me out… _

"Uh-wuh…" Noah said over Milly's shoulder, looking directly at Meryl. _Don't you look like something the cat dragged in… _

"Meryl? Are you okay?"

"Fiiine…" Meryl stressed the I, looking more stressed then the letter itself.

"Hey, what's goin' on? I heard yelling and crying."

"Guh-" Meryl froze.

Vash stood in the doorway, blinking crookedly, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants.

Meryl fainted.

"Uh… was it something I said?" Vash asked.

"Gah…" Noah said. _Well, at least she's finally getting some sleep._

(A/N: -and that, my friends, is chapter TWO! I personally loved it, what with Meryl's strange dream and Noah's dry thoughts. I figured even though he was a baby, he'd need a little character development. He's a dirty little stinker, isn't he? Cussing and what not. Bad Noah, bad! Anywho, I hope you all enjoyed reading, for I enjoyed writing, and now I'll say goodbye. SAYONARA! )


	3. Chapter 3: Thinking of You

Chapter 3: Thinking of You

"Oi…" Meryl woke up feeling hung-over, though no drop of alcohol had touched her lips. She dragged herself out of bed, shuffling into the kitchen to get some coffee. "What a horrible night…" She muttered, the dream replaying in her head. She shuddered at the thought. _Oh, how horrible! …but… I know that's not how it would have been… GAH! What am I thinking!_

Meryl entered the kitchen and froze. Milly was giving Noah his bottle, and Vash was sitting at the table eating a donut. "Good morning, Meryl!" Milly greeted. "Enjoying your day off?"

"Day off… oh, yeah, I have the day off today…" She muttered, rubbing her eyes with her fists. "Oh, yeah… It's soooo great."

"What's the matter?" Vash asked innocently.

"I need coffee…" She muttered, unconsciously sitting down right next to Vash.

Milly got up and fixed Meryl's coffee, black, the way she liked it. "Here you are," Milly said sweetly, setting it down in front of her.

Meryl began drinking the coffee slowly.

"So… You must have had a pretty bad nightmare last night," Vash said casually, leaning his face on his hand.

Meryl spit out her coffee. "Oh, nononononono!" She cried in defense. "I-it wasn't a nightmare!---" _What am I saying? Yes, it was!_

_Maybe she should switch to decaf… _Noah thought to himself.

"Then… why did you scream?" Vash blinked.

"Oh… uh… oh! You meant that dream! Ahahahahahahaha!" She waved her hands in front of her.

"Yeah…" Vash said.

_Oh, yeah… DEFINITELY a decaf girl, _Noah thought to himself, sweat dropping.

"So… What had you so freaked out? No paperwork?" Vash laughed his stupid 'a hah hah hah!' laughed until Meryl whacked him on the back of the head.

"You idiot!" she yelled.

_I hope she doesn't hit me like that… _Noah thought to himself.

"Owww…." Vash moaned, rubbing the lump on his head with tears water-falling down his face.

"That's not what it was about at all!"

"Sorry… Can't you take a joke?"

"So, what do you want to do on your day off, Meryl?" Milly asked.

_You go, Mom. Changing the subject before it got rowdy… _Noah giggled and made baby noises.

"I don't know… I figure I'll get some paperwork done--"

"-but… isn't it your day off?" Vash asked.

"I don't want to fall behind…" Meryl muttered.

"I know! We'll have a mega movie night!"

"Heh…?" Meryl looked over at him, her eyes flattened in irritation.

"We'll watch lots of good movies! It'll be awesome! We'll have popcorn and donuts and soda and any other food we can imagine," He beamed at the people at the table, his eyes sparkling.

"That sounds like fun!" Milly cheered.

_He looks so adorable when he does that… _Meryl thought, leaning on her hand. _GAH! There I go again! What's wrong with me! _

"Well, we can't watch them until it gets dark, so… I'm going to go get some!" Vash zoomed away.

"Oi…" Meryl placed her forehead on her hand.

"Meryl…"

"He's so agitating! He acts younger than Noah sometimes!"

_I resent that… _Noah pouted.

"Meryl," Milly stated.

"What?" She looked over at Milly.

"What was that horrible dream?" She asked concernedly.

"Eh-" Meryl froze and turned pale. "Uh…" She looked down at her hands, fidgeting nervously, her face turning red. "Oh… uh… um…" What was she supposed to say? It was a dumb dream!

"Oh, Meryl… Was it like a horror movie?" Milly whispered as if there were actual horror movie monsters listening.

"You-- could say that," Meryl shrugged, speaking nonchalantly.

"Was I there?" She asked, suddenly excited.

"Yeah."

"Noah, too?"

"Mm-hm."

"What about Mr. Vash?"

"GAH!" Meryl's face turned even redder than before if it was possible. "Uh-uh-"

_Dude… He was like… totally there… What, did she dream about him and her romanticizing or something? _"Gah…" Noah said.

"Meryl?"

"NO!" Meryl cried.

_You're lying in front of an infant. That's setting a bad example. _Noah grinned. "Goo."

"Are you sure?"

"Uh----" Meryl froze again. "Oh…" She lowered her head. "I can't lie to you…"

"What happened, Meryl?" She asked.

"To tell the truth… I really don't want to talk about it…" She muttered, sweating, and hoping Milly would let it go. If she didn't, she'd have to run out of the room screaming to escape those big, innocent eyes.

"Okay, you can tell me later then. Come on, Noah, let's go get you dressed," Milly said, carrying him out of the room.

_Come on, Noah… Tch, like I can go anywhere by myself… _"Gah goo goo…"

Meryl laid her head down on the table, partly because she was relieved that Milly left her alone, partly because she was so frustrated with herself and with what was traveling around town. "Stupid dream… Stupid rumor… Stupid Vash… Stupid me…" She sighed.

-

After about half an hour, Meryl decided to get dressed. She had wandered into her room and grabbed up her clothing, when a thought struck her.

"I really… need a bath," She said, feeling suddenly nasty. "Yeah, a good shower will do me good."

-

She turned on the water of the shower and stripped out of her nightshirt and undergarments. "Oh, man… Why have I been so messed up lately?" She asked, glancing at her reflection as she nabbed a towel out of the closet next to the shower. "I don't love Vash… that's just a stupid rumor…"

She laid the towel down next to her clothes and stepped inside.

The warm water was very soothing. She quickly relaxed and smiled. "I wish I could stay in here forever…" She muttered, sighing. "It seems the bathroom is the only place I can go to escape my life and everything in it… That sucks…"

She began rubbing shampoo through her hair, scrubbing roughly. "I don't know why I'm making a big deal out of it… It's not like I haven't been the center of rumors before… then again, that was way back when I was in school… Virgin Meryl, they'd all joke… Of course… that didn't really affect me because it was true…" She growled and let the shampoo rinse out of her hair. "Stupid immature people!"

She soaped herself down and rinsed it off, then filled up the tub and sat in it for awhile. "I don't know why it's always such a big deal. People can't live unless they're talking about someone else She sunk into the water until only her eyes and nose were above it.

_It's not that I'm stupid… Vash is cute, and he's funny too… but I don't feel like that. The thing is, I don't know why I keep telling myself. Aren't I the only one who's convinced?… You know, besides Vash…_ She rose her head up again and sighed. _If I dwell on it much longer I'll kill myself… That stupid dream had me even more jumpy than it should have… I mean, COME ON! Even if we were getting married, it wouldn't have been like that!_ She leaned back and sighed again. "Besides… how dumb does Meryl-Strife the Stampede sound?" She chuckled a bit, shutting her eyes. "It'll all blow over…"

She wasn't going to let Vash the Stampede, or the rumors about him control her life. It was her own choice about who she liked and who she didn't. The only problem was… she might actually like HIM.

-

"There, don't you look cute!" Milly said, admiring Noah in his red shirt and blue jean overalls.

"Goo." He said. _I hate you._

Milly giggled delightfully. "I know you don't like it. That look on your face tells me so. Sometimes I swear you look just like your father."

He smiled. _Yeah, tell the stories about that Wolfwood guy again! He's so awesome!_

Meryl came walking into the room, drying her hair with a towel.

"Feeling better?"

"Much," Meryl replied. "Amazing what ten minutes can do."

"Well, I'm glad. I was afraid you were going to lose your mind there for a second!" She laughed, though Meryl wasn't sure if she was joking or not.

"Me too," She replied, putting on her earrings. "Is Vash back yet?"

"Nah, he's probably renting out every movie in the store."

"Knowing Vash," Meryl replied flatly. "Goofball moron."

"I think he's cute!" Milly responded. "He's like an adorable little kid!"

"I fail to see anything little about that six-foot-tall, bumbling, spiky-haired idiot," Meryl said, "besides his brain size."

"Mr. Vash is actually a lot smarter than he lets on, you know," Milly said.

"Well, maybe he should 'let on' a little more, don't you think?" Meryl replied, grinning slightly.

"I think it's his own way of retaining his innocence. I mean, you of all people know he has a darker side. You've been there."

"Yeah…" Meryl whispered, recalling the days after the death of Legato Bluesummers. He had been a bit of a wreck then… talking to the dead… sitting by himself and crying… speaking about going to where Rem is… It was a really depressing memory. It hurt her to see him like that. He just wasn't Vash anymore. He was an empty shell, broken-hearted and confused. She was afraid he wouldn't ever come back, but after she had sat with him on that cliff-side and saved him from those men, he returned, not quite as happy at first, but determined. Not to mention shaven.

"What exactly happened out there on that cliff, Meryl?" Milly asked.

"Well… we kinda just sat there. Around two o' clock, he fell asleep, and around three, I was out. When I woke up, I was inside, and he was gone."

Milly sighed, picking Noah up. "He's a great guy, Mr. Vash."

"Yeah… he is…" Meryl agreed. "-but still stupid and annoying."

Milly chuckled. "You're so silly, Meryl."

"I am not silly!" Meryl replied promptly. "You're the one always telling me that I'm all business!"

"-and that's silly!" Milly responded happily.

The wisdom of a naive mind was unfathomable.

(A/N: GASP I don't believe it! AN UPDATE! This is actually for a really sweet reviewer who kindly asked me to update. So, I got to working on it and managed to spit out a chapter! Woo-hoo! Maybe I'll work miracles and get out another chapter of teen samurai... )


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